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Advent of Computing

by Sean Haas

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Latest episodes

Episode 191 - The BHP Virus

October 11, 2026 · 25 min

I bet you can't make a virus for a home computer. That challenge was the start of an interesting saga. It would end with an honest to goodness computer virus spreading among Commodore 64 users. That virus may have made it as far as America…
Episode 190 - Machine Room or DEATH TRAP!?

October 4, 2026 · 30 min

Boo! Welcome to Spook Month 2026! I start off my scary coverage by looking at the dangers of the mainframe rooms of the 50s and 60s. We all know that running computers can be a drag. But can it be deadly? Answering that question takes me…
Episode 189 - The IBM 701

September 27, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

At the end of the 1940s IBM stood at a crossroads. The punch card company had yet to enter the electronic computer market. Forces within and without were pushing them in that direction, but many man in blue suits would resist the coming…
Usagi Electric and the LGP-21 Restoration

September 13, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min

Who can't resist Librascope hardware? Well, me, for one. And David from Usagi Electric is in the same boat. In this episode we sit down to talk about his LGP-21, how he got it, how he got it working, and what the machine can do! Subscribe…
Training and Teaching with the Bi-Tran Six

September 1, 2026 · 53 min

How did you learn about computers? And how in depth was your education? For some the answer is the Bi-Tran Six: an educational machine released in 1965. This was one of the first computer trainers, and it represents a very interesting take…

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Episode 187 - What's Better Than Binary?

August 17, 2026 · 1 hr 5 min

Binary is synonymous with digital computing. But is it the only way to crunch numbers? The short answer is no. The long answer, well, that's today's topic. Today we are talking about ternary, aka base 3. From it's early uses in the 19th…
LIVE from VCF West - Wait, Is That Really UNIX?

August 3, 2026 · 48 min

It's no secret that I've been fascinated by odd UNIX clones for a while. When I got invited back to speak at VCF West this year I decided to share that fascination with a captive audience. In this talk we look at Idris and CROMIX, and ask…
MADDIDA

July 19, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min

In 1950 Northrup unveiled their MAgnetic Drum DIgital Differential Analyser. The machine is a wild piece of technology; a rendering of an analog computer in digital encoding. But how did we get here? How did a project to guide a missile…
Is EMUL-8ion a Form of Flattery?

July 6, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min

EMUL-8 is a fascinating programming language. It's described in just one paper from 1977. It's a mix of features from APL, LISP, ALGOL, and SNOBOL. And, I think, it's a wonderful window into how counterculture and home computing collided.
What Is A Programming Language?

June 21, 2026 · 1 hr 10 min

I mean that both in the specific and the abstract. This episode we are looking at APL, which stands for A Programming Language. APL was developed in the mid 50s, but didn't see a working implementation until 1965. It's a language that…
Dale Biagio - Hello, World!

June 14, 2026 · 32 min

Dale Biagio(author of Hello, World!) got in touch with me recently. He said he had a book full of short histories of programming languages. Better still, it has sources! How could I resist! In this episode I sit down with Dale to talk…
A Digital Gap?

May 31, 2026 · 55 min

I've been browsing old compur surveys and trying to build up a comprehensive data set. What I've found is a little surprising: between late 1945 and 1949 only 10 new computers entered service. Once we get to the 50s that number explodes…

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About the show

Welcome to Advent of Computing, the show that talks about the shocking, intriguing, and all too often relevant history of computing. A lot of little things we take for granted today have rich stories behind their creation, in each episode we will learn how older tech has lead to our modern world.